10 minutes with PIECARAMBA!’s Rob Litchfield

Posted on 8th January 2017

Many comic book lovers and pie fans have already made the pilgrimage to PIECARAMBA! in Winchester – a contemporary pie and mash emporium and a new project for Rob Litchfield; formerly of Pie & Vinyl in Southsea. We had 10 minutes with Rob (over pie, of course) to see what it’s all about:

Tell us about the concept behind PIECARAMBA!

Personally I wanted to try something new, different, a bit more contemporary. Here we take the classic pie and mash meal and bring it bang up to date. All you can see around you is about modern pop culture – instead of looking backwards or forwards, it reflects now.

Winchester was on my radar as there’s nothing else like it here. It fills the gap between the lower end McDonalds and Rick Stein, offering casual, informal dining. It’s a fun place to be. Forget the outside world, leave your troubles by the door.

Is there much of a comic scene in Winchester?

The comic scene is certainly growing here. To buy imports, you currently have to go to Forbidden Planet in Southampton. Currently I stock back issues, older comics, but I think there’s definitely a market for us to bring in imports ourselves.

Whatever happens, I’m happy to be introducing people to reading comics – engaging in something they might feel uncomfortable talking about. It’s a safe haven. We have graphic novels that you can read here, then come back again next week and pick up where you left off. Comics have always been a passion of mine, since I was a kid – although I don’t get time to read anything now, which is a shame! But I get to be around it all day and meet like-minded people – they have really come out of the woodwork!

And what about the food?

We have something for everyone, taking the classic dish and bringing it into the 21st century. Along with ten gluten free pies, we offer four vegan pies and vegan mash potato too.

We’re offering something that no one else does. I’ve been very conscious of picking the perfect pies to make us unique. For example, no one else does a pie like our Unique New York. My absolute favourite is the PIECARAMBA! – a burrito pie.

We have a lot of vegan societies come to us because of our selection too – check out the Porky Pie; it’s pulled jackfruit in a BBQ sauce and tastes just like pulled pork!

How did your background prepare you for a life of pie?

It didn’t, really! I studied Environmental Science at uni, I worked for Estee Lauder and then went on to sell high end barbecues to the likes of Harrods and John Lewis. After that I co-founded Pie & Vinyl in Southsea and that was four years ago.